在英语的行文中,大家常常被其中的词的省略造成的麻烦所困扰。其实这种困扰主要出自我们对其英文行文表达习惯和修辞手法的不了解。一般说来,英语文中的省略需遵守两个原则:一是这个词可有可无,或者是多余的,总之就是少了它之后不会改变原文的意思,二是省略的词义已经在上下文中得到了充分的体现。这里举个简单的例子让大家,先吃个开胃餐:
Someone traveling alone, if hungry, injured, or ill, often had nowhere to turn except to the nearest cabin or settlement.这句话的中文意思是独自旅行的人,要是饿了、受伤了或者生病了,除了最近的小木屋或居民点,常常无处求援。这个句子在if后面省略了he is,这是因为在时间,地点,条件,让步,方式状语从句中,如果从句的主语与主句的主语相同(或为it),而从句的谓语又含有be(包括联系动词be和助动词be),则可把“主语+be”省略掉。但要注意有一类句子和省略句有相似的地方,如:You must get out of the city, and that quickly.(你得出城,而且得快.)这样的句子并不是省略句,因为后一句中有that代表了要表示的意思。
He believes, although perhaps he does not know he believe it, that the more extensive verifications are, that the more frequently experiments have been made and results of the same kind arrived at, that the more varied the conditions under which the same results have been attained, the more certain is the ultimate conclusion, and he disputes the question no further.
句子解析:在这句子由and连接的两部分构成,第一部分中although引导的其让步作用的状语从句将believes与其宾语部分分割开来,believe后面的宾语部分包括三个that引导的从句,和后面and前的部分,需要注意的是这里用了the more…the more…的结构,其中第二个the more子句中,arrived at省略了have been,而第三个the more子句中包含了一个由which引导的定语从句。
句子翻译:他相信,尽管他或许不知道自己相信,验证范围越广泛,试验做得越多且得出的结果相同,而且得出同一结果的条件越是多样化,则最终的结论就越肯定无疑,他再也不对这个问题提出质疑了。
What is questioned is whether a country like Britain has a chance, assuming it has the will, to succeed where so many have failed, and even assuming that it has, should make the tremendous effort and take substantial financial risk of trying to leap-frog into leadership in entirely new technology, or whether it should take the softer option of merely catching up with the rest of the industrialized world.
句子解析:这是一个主系表结构。What is questioned是主语从句。表语是两个以whether引导的从句。第一个whether从句的主干结构是a country has a chance to succeed and should make the tremendous effort and take substantial financial risk of trying to leap-frog into leadership in entirely new technology,而两个assuming引导的从句用来表示假设,此外where引导的状语从句是为了做一对比,并且在第二个assuming从句的it has后面省略了the chance;第二个whether从句结构比较简单不再仔细讨论。
句子翻译:现在提出的问题是,像英国这样的国家,假如愿意的话,是否有可能在很多国家已经失败的方面获得成功。假如有这种可能,英国是否应尽最大的努力,冒最大的财政风险,一步进入全新技术的前列,或者应该采取比较稳妥地选择,只是赶上其他工业国的步伐。
综上所述,想成功的突破